Monday Madness: Visit Your Local Library

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Monday Madness
As if Mondays aren’t busy enough, let me add one more thing for you to consider adding to your “to-do” list.
Take time this week to visit your local library.  If you don’t have a library card, sign up for one.  If you enjoy your visit make a plan to go back the next week also.  You can spend anywhere from 5 minutes to a couple of hours there.  Our local library carries books for all ages, VHS tapes, DVD’s, CD’s, books on CD, even coloring pages for the kids and games. 
If you have extra books sitting around that you wouldn’t mind donating take them in and ask the librarian if they could use them. 

Tip Tuesday- Laundry Soap

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I’m not great at making my own laundry soap.  I have bought all the supplies to do it, a couple of times  actually.. I have never really stuck with it, though I know it is cost effective.

My tip for you today, although it’s common sense, is worth saying-
Use less soap!  The guidelines for how much soap you should be using is set by the company that is making that soap and wanting you to buy gobs of it so they can profit.
With my last batch of laundry detergent I threw out  the ugly green plastic measuring scoop & cardboard box that came with it.  I replaced it with a nice glass jar & a stainless steel tablespoon scoop.
I much prefer the glass jar over the cardboard box, & the metal scoop versus the plastic ones.  I already had these things on hand.
Now I use 1 or two of these scoops rather than half a green scoop.

What do you have on hand that you could use to pretty up the laundry area in your home?

Ditching Toxins- 1 Year Later

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Almost exactly a year ago I posted about how freaked out I am by toxins.  Since then I DID actually pull out the lotions that had parabens listed in the ingredients, or had a list of ingredients longer than I cared to read.

I tried making my own deodorant (& toothpaste), which worked better than the store bought.  That is, until it got too cold and hard (hoping it will work again in the summer, I have hyperhidrosis and am a super sweater.

I’ve gotten a little more relaxed since Christmas and started using a hand lotion that I don’t even know where it came from.  I read that it had parabens but I figured I’d just use a little, and it smelled SO good!

Well, I read an article today that has again sparked my interest to remove toxins, so the lotion will be ditched.

You can read about the article here, it talks about parabens and breast cancer.  It’s not that they may be causing it or even directly linked, but I do feel that women as a whole are using WAY too many products that are unhealthy and our bodies know it.

By the way, if all of you women would stop using so many products to make yourselves look good, then I could stop using so many and it would really level out the playing field.  Just sayin’.

Also- I stopped using my very favorite moisturizer and swapped it for olive oil after a MOPS meeting where I had everyone making a sugar scrub.  Some gals asked if it was okay to use on your face, and I said I wouldn’t, because it’s oil.  Then a few other said that it was actually good to use just olive oil on your face.  I looked into it, and they were right!  My skin loooooves the change.  Although winter winds have been tough, the olive oil is still all I will be putting on my pretty little face.

Think to yourself- What can I do to make a difference for me/my family?  Then do it!

Learning something new.

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My friend Jennifer came over last weekend and taught me how to knit.
I’m thankful for this new activity, & getting to spend time with her.
I’m not sure if it is something I will keep up, but it has been fun to try.
As I struggled with how to hold the needles and where to put the yarn, I realized what my daughter must be going through as she is so often trying to learn something new in school.
We must all begin to show more compassion to others.  Learning something totally foreign is difficult & takes time, but is not impossible.

Melted Crayon Shapes

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What would you do with an ice cream bucket FULL of crayons?
Well I’ll tell you what I did.  I sorted them by color and saved all of them longer than 2 inches for precious little hands to color with. The ones under about 2 inches went back in the bucket to be melted into new exciting shapes!
I did this a few years ago with my playgroup friends.  At the time it was just about Easter & we made butterflies, eggs, and spring shapes.
Today it’s just me and my little guy, so we are making dinosaur shapes!

So far I have had the oven set at 170 (the lowest my oven will go) for about 20 minutes.  I checked them at 15 and they weren’t totally melted yet.
I’ll post an update when they’re completed!  I hope they turn out well, but if they don’t, I’m not too worried about it.  These were just pieces of crayons that had already had lots of love.  And really, more than anything it’s something for the short guy and I to do together until his big sister comes home from school.

*Update:  My dinosaur took FOREVER.  I know this is because I didn’t break mine into little pieces.  So the result was it took longer (about 50 minutes), and the back of my dinosaur looked like it had bones and a horn where there were still pieces that hadn’t melted.  The front of both looked just right though!  Mine is the brownish/red (I used all the dark crayons I was sure the kids wouldn’t want to use).

Now the two creatures are playing with each other and the little guy is occupied because it’s like he has a new toy.  Success!

Back to Blogging

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I would love to get back to blogging!  I can’t blog from my phone (although it can do just about everything else!).  I can bring up the web-site but I can’t type anything in. 🙁  So I am going to make an honest effort to turn on the laptop at least once a week & blog.  It makes me feel good to write out my thoughts & it makes me feel bad to realize I haven’t been doing it.  But we have had an awesome summer and kept very busy.

Okay- My goal of becoming a better homemaker has been going well.
A wonderful woman from church has given me her bread maker.  Making fresh, nutritional bread for my family is amazing!

I’ve realized in the past year how seriously important the food we eat really is.  I can tell what types of food my kids have eaten based on their attitudes & attention span.  My body feels so different based on the food I’ve put in it.  I compare it to how your car would run if you filled your tank with water instead of gasoline.

Starting Sept. 26th I’m joining in on Menu Planning with Keeper of the Home.  I’m hoping that doing this will help me be more prepared for meal time so I can serve nutritional food & save money on our food.  Because saving money is always a good deal. 🙂

Time flies when…

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 Time flies when…You’re having fun!  You knew that already didn’t you?
Well it’s been just over a month since I’ve blogged, and I can tell you it’s because I have been having A BLAST!
We learned a few months back that my daughter is dyslexic. Praise God!  I sound crazy, right?  Well it feels like a giant blessing to now understand (sort of) what is going on and why her work wasn’t progressing at grade level.

By the way, I’m the one who had to tell the school I thought she was struggling and have her evaluated.  They didn’t pick up the dyslexia even with the evaluation (they suggested she was ADD, her pediatrician agreed that with the information from the school that was probably it and to have her further evaluated & medicated.  I stopped there.  I mean, their primary treatment for that is drugs, and if you can’t tell by my previous posts, I’m far to “crunchy” to medicate my children for something that they can learn how to deal with (my opinion here, don’t hold it against me).  I thank the school for trying, they really did do their best.  But in this case, their best, wasn’t good enough for my little girl.
Thankfully, my husband and I trusted our hearts and kept looking for more answers!  The neighbor/eye doctor suggested having her tested for dyslexia in his office.
Can I be honest here and tell you I only had it done hoping to rule it out.  I was pretty sure we wouldn’t figure out what was going on this easily.  And in my head, clearly it couldn’t be dyslexia because she could read words like “cat” and “dog”.  She COULD figure out small words, but man was it slow and emotionally hard on her and me both!

She was tested, and the letter from the optometrist came in the mail…Yes, we were dealing with dyslexia.
Initially after the diagnosis I was crushed.  I felt very defeated.  I first felt like she would never learn to read, and certainly not at her level.  I think I cried for almost 2 days before I came to terms with it and did what I knew I should do “Let go and let God”.
That’s when I started to do research on Dyslexia and how her brain may be processing things.  Yes, this diagnosis makes perfect sense!  If you’re having trouble following along with what everyone else is reading you might as well be looking outside at the birds or twirling your hair, right?  At least if you’re 8 that’s what you’d do.
It was that nasty attitude of mine that kept us from success.  I should’ve known better, but I was caught up in the moment of feeling sorry for myself.
I felt like a terrible mother for not being able to teach my daughter.  I was disappointed in myself for leaving her education up to the school.
Then I grew up and got over it.
Flash forward a few months.  We’ve been doing vision therapy with the eye doctor, which my daughter thinks is supper fun (at least most of it).  We set up a bedroom in our house as a “homeschool room” and bought lots and lots of curriculum when it was on sale.
All of this is seriously fascinating to me.  The transformation has been remarkable.
Once I took on an attitude of gratitude we saw big changes.
On her first try my princess read Barbie: Story Collection in 53  minutes, this week it was in 24 minutes!  She shaved 29 minutes off of her time!!  And best of all, she did it without crying or giving up!  Oh and she actually read it herself, no help!
I love teaching my children!  My 3 year old is sort of liking learning, but it’s been a big adjustment for him.  Right now he’s doing lots of fun things and learning his letters.  We’re working on ways to keep him busy while his sister is studying.  I am happy to say we have only a couple of times had to do this with using TV as a distraction, otherwise he is learning right along side of her!
We’re going to keep trying out homeschool through the summer and possibly into the school year.  It has been such a rewarding experience for all of us and brought our family so much closer together.
My husband has been a great support and even enjoys teaching too!
This has been a wonderful summer!


Here is a peek into our school room.

Quick & Easy Money Savers For a One Income Family

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I get asked this and sometimes even ask myself:
Family of 4 living on one income and you still stay home, how do you do it?
First I want to give a big huge thank you to God, for placing the 4 of us together.  Without Him we just couldn’t do it.  He is a mighty, wonderful God who blesses us in so many ways.  Second a big huge thank you to my husband.  I appreciate him waking up each morning and going to work for us.  I know he enjoys his job, and that helps all of us live happier.  He is a godly man who is very involved with his family.  And a third thank you to everyone who has shared their tips with me.
Okay here it is, Money Saving tips, by room:
Starting with the Laundry Room:
Wash clothing using the appropriate water level, on cold.  I’ve been doing this for years now and have found the clothes get just as clean on cold as they do on hot.  No special soaps needed.
Speaking of laundry soap, use only about half of what the package tells you to use.  It will be easier on your clothing, and save you a bundle on the soap.
Easy Step:  Shorten your drying time (stop the dryer before it gets to the cool down).
Next Step: Hang clothes on hangers and hook them on the shower curtain bar to dry in the bathroom.
Advanced Step: Line dry your clothes outside.  I’ve found this to actually be quite therapeutic.
Also- Quit buying dryer sheets.  They’re dangerous in terms of build up on your lint screen and causing house fires, but also loaded with chemicals your precious family would be better off without.  If you do need something to make your clothes a little softer use vinegar in your washing machine.  It works, promise.
Kitchen:
This is a money and time saver; cook a double batch of whatever you’re making.  Save the leftovers for another day.
Buy in bulk; especially beef if you like it.
Eat less… I’m not really joking here.  How often do you go for the second burger that you really don’t “need”.  If you could have that one for lunch the next day and still be satisfied you’ll be saving.
I save left overs, even when it’s literally only 3 bites.  Because that 3 bites will satisfy my toddler just fine.  Or I chop whatever it is up small and add it to our Friday night pizza.
Yes… We do Pizza almost every Friday.  I clean out the fridge… Sometimes it’s carrots and parmesan because we don’t have mozzarella on hand (which we’ve found is actually a combination we love) other times we can add more to it.
Soap dispenser:  I use a foaming soap dispenser.  1 part soap 5 parts water. I just refill it when needed.  This has cut our soap use by SO much!  I’m also pretty sensitive to soaps, so my hands look like I’m 70 after washing in straight soap; the foaming soap has helped this.
The next step took me awhile, but I eventually threw out pretty much all household cleaners and sprays.  We now use just a spray bottle of vinegar/water mix.  For tough things that need to be scrubbed I use baking soda.  Vinegar is a natural disinfector, and come on people, the smell does NOT stay around, so get over buying your expensive products that are attacking your body and pick up a gallon of vinegar & a cute $1 spray bottle.  Everything is getting just as clean if not cleaner than it was using the toxic sprays.  And yes… I wipe up raw meat using this spray, or soap and water.  No problemO’.
Paper towels/napkins:  We were a little crazy with our paper towels, going through about 2 rolls a week… I do not know anyone else who has ever used that much, but we did.  And at about $1 a roll, we cut just over $100 out of our yearly spending by using dish towels instead.  For napkins we bought wash clothes from Ikea that have a cute colored loop on them.  This way I know they don’t belong with the bathroom wash clothes.  I store them in a basket in the cupboard.  They’re much more absorbent and can be used more than once.
Turn off your oven about 5-10 minutes before the timer goes off.  You’re using less energy and the oven is still hot inside.  In the winter, (if you don’t have little ones that might get hurt) leave the oven door open for a bit to let the heat into your home.
You can use this same concept on the stove top for most things.  I turn the burner off before it’s done (unless it’s rice.. that stuff is pretty picky!), my husband sometimes leaves it on even after the food is on the table…So,  I think we balance each other out here? 😉
Okay enough of the kitchen… On to THE LIVING ROOM:
Watch less TV!  Spend more time playing board games, cards, and reading.  Our TV is on a power strip that I sometimes will turn off for a week or better.  Most commonly though, it’s only off for a couple of days at a time. It’s not hard, no one misses the TV and to be honest, it’s pretty fun to go without it.
We have a big TV and when I say big I’m not talking about the screen.  Our TV is almost 10 years old.  Sure we could go buy a new big screen, but then we’d need a new entertainment center too, and frankly I like the one I have, it serves its purpose well.  I do enjoy watching TV at friends and relatives houses though, as corny as it sounds, I feel like it’s a real treat.
Over all tips:
Thanks to my daddy, this has been drilled into my head:  If you leave a room, TURN OFF THE LIGHT!!!
Along with that don’t use a light unless you need it.
Don’t turn on the water full blast when doing anything (showering, brushing teeth, washing hands, etc).
Take quicker showers using warm water instead of hot.
I think you will find these things are easier to implement than you think.  Oh & I’m not a professional, so use your own discretion when trying these.  But they do work for us.
What other easy money savers can you share?  Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Bathroom Upgrade: Shower Filter

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Last night we installed a shower filter.

It all started yesterday, Sunday, when went to Home Depot for a few pieces of lumber we forgot to order from the local lumber yard on Saturday (when they were open and we ordered the rest of the lumber we needed).

I was browsing and decided to look for a new shower head & hose for the kids’ bathroom.  Theirs has been broke for quite some time, so they’ve only been using the bath in there.
After MUCH comparison (mostly on the gallons per minute, and the “looks”), I decided the $12 shower head was just as good as the $74 one.

So it was settled, until….. I saw a shower filter!  This is something I’ve been meaning to look into.  So there I was again, now comparing shower filters for our grown up bathroom (the one that doesn’t have rubber ducks everywhere).  I decided on the Sprite Slim Line.
This brand claims to do quite a bit, you can read about that HERE.

Total cost of upgrade, about $20 and 20 minutes

Oh, and the lumber there didn’t work out for us… So I’ll be ordering that from the local lumber yard today 😉

Activity Calendar

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Last Thursday I unplugged the TV… literally.. I disconnected the DVD player, VCR, converter box, Wii, & UNPLUGGED the whole stinkin’ thing from the wall.  I even covered up the entertainment center with a huge piece of fabric. AND put the couch in front of it so it is NOT easy to get to it.
It’s  not that we don’t like our TV… You see, we are a little hooked on so many shows that really aren’t doing anything for us.  For me, watching TV even just a 30 minute episode is taking away from time I could be spending helping my daughter become a better reader, or teaching my son the right way to use his scissors and draw a straight line.  Or ummm.. I could be doing laundry!
Having the TV on as background noise isn’t something we do here, so any time it is on, it is very distracting to the little people in this house.
I came up with this cute little chart, inspired by a friend who made a much more adorable one  for her boys.
We are using this as a FAMILY activity chart, so even Daddy played Barbies with us last night.   By having a plan in place we are less tempted to run to the TV to entertain us.  I am especially excited for warmer weather so we can add in things like…Dinner at the park, riding bikes, and other outdoor activities!

Total cost about $17. All items from Wal-Mart.
$7.88- Magnetic Dry Erase Board
$5.44- Plastic Name Badges
$2.97- Week Day Magnets

…Used 3 sheets of card stock & some markers for the pictures. I measured for the grid & applied it with perm. marker.

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